1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a decoration article having a clear layer, such as a vehicular leather-wrapped steering wheel having a clear layer provided on a wood design section of a ring part gripped upon steering, and a method of forming the same.
2. Related Art
Regarding a decoration article of the above type, for example, a leather steering wheel, a ring part gripped upon steering is configured by arranging a decorative cover and a cover member having a leather part along a circumferential direction of a plane around a core material made of aluminum alloy and the like (for example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2). The decorative cover is configured by providing a wood design on a decoration layer of an outer surface-side, is made of a wooden material or is configured by bonding a sheet material having a wood design to a surface of a base material consisting of a rigid synthetic resin material. Also, the decorative cover consists of a split member configured to split into a plurality of (two) members (upper and lower) along a sectional circumferential direction of the ring part.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2013-018336A
[Patent Document 2] JP-A-2013-018458A
In a steering wheel of the related art, it is necessary to provide a clear layer on an outer surface of the decorative cover so as to make the decorative cover glossy and to improve the design characteristic. At this time, it may be considered a method of providing a clear layer by a mold forming so as to form a constant film thickness on the outer surface of the decorative cover without taking much labor, as compared to a dip method, a spraying method and the like requiring a masking and the like. However, according to this configuration, a molding material of the clear layer is introduced to a backside of the decorative cover in the configuration of the related art, so that a pressure of the molding material is lowered and air bubbles are generated in the clear layer to cause a defect in an outward appearance.
Regarding the above problems, a terminal of the decorative cover may be filled with an adhesive or may be provided with a separate piece (refer to Patent Document 2) so as to block an introduction hole through which the molding material of the clear layer is introduced. In this case, however, a separate process for performing the same is required, so that it is difficult to simply manufacture a decoration article such as a leather steering wheel having a good outward appearance in which the generation of air bubbles is suppressed.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a decoration article having a clear layer, which can be conveniently and cleanly formed, and a forming method thereof.